Eugene Ysaye's Six Sonatas for Solo Violin in Three Recitals

Abstract

Three dissertation recitals were submitted in lieu of a written dissertation. The recitals generally focus on the Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin. Taking for granted the fact that the direct influences on these sonatas (especially J.S. Bach’s Six Sonata and Partitas for Solo Violin and innovations of Debussy) are readily apparent, each recital pairs two Ysaÿe sonatas with other compositions of his time that do not have any explicit connection to his solo sonatas. This approach gives a broader view of the zeitgeist that nurtured these highly innovative and important works. Ysaÿe’s Solo Sonata No.1 is his response to Bach’s G minor Sonata. However, it also shares some common traits with Bela Bartok’s First Sonata for Violin and Piano (1922), is an iconic work in which Bartok abandoned tonality and overt nationalism in favor of a more avant-garde atonal approach. Both the Ysaÿe and Bartok feature sonata forms that hearken back to a strict classical era structure, and they are also both influenced by a mutual friend, Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti, is the dedicatee of Ysaÿe’s sonata No.1 and a faithful promoter of Bartok’s music. The dedicatee of the Third Sonata, George Enescu, significantly influenced Ysaye's score writing style. Born in the same year and a fellow student at the same music school as Bartok, Enescu and the early Bartok both belong to the category of nationalistic European composers. Paired with Bartok’s Sonata No.1, Ysaÿe’s Sonatas No. 1 and No. 3 show a strong contrast and tension between the homage to iv tradition and departure from tradition under the new aesthetic and ideological trends of that time. The second recital features Ysaÿe’s Sonatas No. 2 and No. 4, dedicated to Jacques Thibaud, and Fritz Kreisler respectively. It also includes music of Korngold and Kreisler in the hope of establishing a broader cultural picture of the European musical scene surrounding the turbulence of the two world wars. Ysaÿe, Kreisler, Thibaud, and Korngold all found asylum in the United States, where they furthered their careers as well. The U.S. granted them not only safety from warravaged France and Germany, but also strengthened and refreshed their artistic creativity. Their music (especially Korngold’s film scores) became part of the American music landscape. Sonatas No. 5 and No. 6 were dedicated to Ysaÿe's young and talented students Mathieu Crickboom and Manuel Quiroga. These two sonatas are very different from No.1, No. 2, and No.4, fundamentally influenced by Bach's Sei Solo. This influence is supplemented with more contemporary elements such as French impressionistic harmonies, pentatonic scales, and even a Habenera in the sixth sonata. By deliberately excluding Debussy’s music and instead focusing on Maurice Ravel (a colleague and rival of Debussy), in the final program, we can get a broader picture of French impressionistic music. Ravel’s iconic virtuosic work for violin, Tzigane (1924), has a particular connection with Ysaÿe’s Sonata No.6 since both were written around the same time and suggest an element of exoticism influence. Composers influenced by Ravel, such as Poulenc and Jean Françaix, are great examples of how French impressionistic music triggered responses (often irreverent or humorous) from younger generations. Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne, composed in 1911, gives us an elegant snapshot of the early French impressionism from one of the most talented female composers of the time.